‘Fowl’ play suspected as Gideon Gono chicken farm set on fire again

HARARE – Fire gutted a chicken farm belonging to Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono for the second time in less than two months in another suspected case of arson. The farm is located on the outskirts of Harare along Mutoko Road.

The fire, that started around 5pm, spread for about five hectares before members of the Fire Brigade were called in to put it out.

The group chief operating officer for TD Holdings, a subsidiary of Lunar Chickens, Mr Velenjani Lupankwa, said they were yet to determine the extent of the damage that could have been caused by the fire.

“The fire is said to have started at around five and fortunately the wind direction saved the buildings from being burnt. We are still assessing the damage and we are yet to inform Dr Gono, who is the principle investor,” Mr Lupankwa said. He said the cause of the fire was not known.

“We cannot rule out foul play because there was no electrical fault and the location of the fire makes us think that they were targeting the heart of our breeding programme, that is the area where we get 300 000 day-old chicks every week,” Mr Lupankwa said.

“Had it been burnt that would have meant being out of business for more than a year,” he said.

“The poultry industry countrywide would be affected as we contribute a major stake as far as day-old chicks are concerned.”

Mr Lupankwa thanked the Fire Brigade for reacting swiftly and averting more damage. In July, property worth more than US$30 000 was burnt at the same farm. Farm equipment that included electric motors, electronic feeding troughs and grazing land were destroyed in the inferno.

After the first fire in July this year Facebook activist Baba Jukwa posted a message saying “Saviour Kasukuwere was already pouncing on him (Gono). He dispatched Fidelis Fengu and his team to go and burn down GG’s chickens to ashes. They wanted to hit where it hurts him most.

“The war to assassinate GG is now intensifying. GG ran away from the country some three weeks ago to Mauritius and came back to check how his things were moving only to be pounced at by the arsonist Fidelis Fengu.

But their real intention in to kill him and as l tipped GG few weeks ago he must run away and stay somewhere outside the country until the tension has subsided because Kasukuwere is meaning serious business. He wants to see GG dead by all means necessary,” Baba Jukwa wrote.